Book with talking pages



1961 w. R. HICKS 2,997,306

BOOK WITH TALKING PAGES Filed May 4, 1959 INVENT OR. MM M \M AT TORNEXS United States This invention relates to talking books; that is, to books which have sound records on some or all of the pages, and with the sound records disposed to produce a sound when a stylus or other instrumentality is moved across the record on the page.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved talking book having a sound record attached to 'a page of the book and at such a location that the record will vibrate the page as a diaphragm to produce the sound.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the record is of the hill-and-dale type so that it can be vibrated by holding a stylus against it and moving the stylus rapidly along the length of the record.

Another object is to combine a sound record and a page of a book with the sound record extending generally parallel to the back of the book where the pages are bound together, but spaced from the back so as to be spaced from the page below it when the book is open and the page with the record is held in a bowed condition above the underlying pages.

Still another object is to provide a talking book of the character indicated with pictures or other representations on pages with sound records, and with the recorded sound on each page related to the representation on that page.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views;

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing an open book embodying this invention, and illustrating the manner in which the invention is used;

FIGURE 2 is an end View, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the book which is shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 3 but showing a modified form of the invention; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 1 shows a book having a cover 11 and a plurality of pages 13 bound together along a back 15 at which the pages are connected with the cover. The term pages is used herein to indicate the leaves of the book and not merely the face of each leaf.

Some or all of the pages 13 have a sound track 18 on the page and near the inner end of the page, that is, the end which is connected with the other pages by the binding of the book. However, the sound track 18 is sufliciently spaced from the binding or back of the book so that the sound track is spaced from the next underlying page when the book is lying open and the page having the particular sound track is arched upwardly, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2.

A page is brought into a bowed or arched condition by moving the front edge 20 of the page inwardly to a position such as shown in FIGURES l and 2, and the page is then held in this condition by one or more fingers pressed against the front edge portion to hold the page against the underlying page so that it is maintained in its bowed or arched condition.

Each page 13 is made of flexible but relatively stiff material such as paper or plastic, and the sound track 18 is formed by embossing the page 13, as is best shown in atent 2,997,306 Patented Aug. 22, 1961 FIGURE 3. The sound track or record 18 is preferably of the hill-and-dale type so that a stylus 22, when pressed against the sound track 18, and moved lengthwise of the track, causes a vibration of the page 13 in a manner to reproduce the sound recorded on the track.

Although the stylus 22 may be narrow, the wear on the sound track 18 is reduced by using a stylus having a relatively wide edge 24. The edge must be sharp enough to penetrate easily into the dales of the sound track 18. The speed with which the stylus must be moved lengthwise of the track depends upon the design of the sound track but can be easily determined by the user.

Since the sound track 18 is integral with the page 13, it will be evident that any vibration imparted to the sound track by the longitudinal motion of the stylus 22, causes similar vibration of the arched or bowed portion of the page 13 which serves as a diaphragm for reproducing sound.

In the preferred construction of the invention there is a picture 26 or legends indicating sounds or Words, the picture or legend being referred to herein generically as a representation on the page. ordinated with the representation on the page. For example, a picture of an animal may be used with a sound track which states the name of the animal, or which makes sounds in imitation to the sounds made by such an animal. Where the representation on the page is a word or phrase, the sound track may reproduce the word or phrase to indicate pronunciation.

FIGURE 4 shows a modified form of the invention in which a page 13 has a sound record or track 18 attached to the page by adhesive 28, or in any other suitable manner. Except for the fact that the track 18 is made of a difierent piece of material, attached to the page 13' instead of being embossed on the page, the structure of FIGURE 4 is the same as that of FIGURE 3.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, but changes and modifications can be made and some features can be used in difierent combinations without departing from the invention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A talking book assembly comprising a plurality of hard but flexible pages bound together along the back of the book, a hill-and-dale sound record on one side of each of at least a group of said pages, the sound record being rigidly connected to the page and extending parallel to the back of the book and spaced from the back of the book so that when a page is bowed upwardly with its free edge portion held firmly against an underlying page, the sound record is at a portion of the page spaced from the underlying page, and a sound actuator that contacts with the sound track and that is free of any other contact with the bowed portion of the page, said sound actuator including a stylus having a handle portion at one end adapted to be gripped by fingers of a person using the book, said stylus being sharp at its other end for contact with the record as the stylus is swept along the length of the page to vibrate the bowed portion of the page, the undulations of the sound record being of suflicient amplitude to vibrate the bowed portion of the page audibly in accordance with the sound record connected to the page.

2. The talking book described in claim 1 and in which the stylus has a sharp edge which extends transversely of the length of the sound track as the stylus is moved lengthwise of the track.

3. The talking book described in claim 1 and in which the page having the sound record thereon is a flexible but relatively stifl sheet of plastic material.

The sound track is co- 4. The talking book described in claim 1 and in which track, and the sound record on the track is associated the sound record is formed of material of the sheet and with the representation on the page.

consists of an embossed portion of the sheet.

5. The talking book described in claim 1 and in which References Cited m the file of thls Patent the sound record is a strip of material bonded to the page 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS of the book. 2,042,736 Schwartz June 2, 1936 6. The talking book described in claim 1 and in which 2,546,680 Samuels Mar. 27, 1951 the page having the sound record thereon has also a 2,822,425 Hicks Feb. 4, 1958 representation on the same side of the page as the sound 2,859,974 Iauquet Nov. 11, 1958 

